Ready to Disrupt Health Care? Applications open for the UnitedHealthcare Accelerator Powered by Techstars

The digital health market is transforming before our eyes. Unprecedented capital is penetrating the health-tech sector, with startups seeing over $8B in funding in 2018, exceeding 2017’s $5.7B venture funding, and digital health IPOs are starting to infiltrate Wall Street. Digital health acquisitions are making headlines as well, like that of PillPack, a Techstars portfolio company, which was acquired by Amazon in 2018 for nearly $1B.

With the market primed for innovation, the UnitedHealthcare Accelerator Powered by Techstars is launching in Minneapolis to collaboratively develop innovations in digital health and wellness.

“Advances in sensor technology, pattern detection, personalization efforts, behavioral science, and our understanding of wellbeing are all coalescing. At the same juncture, the legacy model of care has led us to a point where costs are unsustainable and population health trends are going in the wrong direction,” said Matt Miller, managing director of the program. “There has never been a better time to pursue innovation and disruption across the continuum of health services.”

Miller’s background in health care is extensive. He’s been an angel investor, an entrepreneur, an early-stage startup employee, and a corporate leader in the industry. He also has a doctorate with research focused on health behavior change interventions.

“All of these experiences blend into my new role as managing director. Knowing how challenging it is to be an entrepreneur, I am committed to helping founders be successful without sacrificing their own health. I look forward to helping them identify and pursue opportunities, navigate complex challenges, grow their businesses, and transform the health care system.”

UnitedHealthcare is focused on making health care simpler, more personal, and more accessible. The UnitedHealthcare Accelerator Powered by Techstars will focus on how technology can be leveraged to solve today’s most present problems across the industry. This mentorship-driven accelerator is one way UnitedHealthcare is showing its commitment to innovation in the industry.

“Some of the most complex parts of health care are the ripest for innovation,” says Joel Nelson, vice president of innovation at UnitedHealthcare and program director for the accelerator. “As a health care company that serves nearly 50 million people, we hold ourselves accountable to helping people live healthier lives – our partnership with Techstars is another example of our commitment to developing innovations that make the health system work better for everyone.”

Applications for the inaugural class of the UnitedHealthcare Accelerator Powered by Techstars are open now through May 12, 2019. The accelerator is interested in startup technologies focused on scalable solutions for health behavior change, aging in place, mental health, addiction, nutrition, fitness, wellbeing, complex care coordination, direct-to-consumer wellness innovation, data integration, social determinants of health, communication tools for health professionals, care automation, remote diagnostics, and more.

Daniel FeldDaniel is the Sr. VP of Accelerators at Techstars, where he was previously VP of Operations. Prior to Techstars, Daniel was Partner/COO of Slice of Lime, an award-winning website and application UX/UI design firm where he lead client project strategy, company strategy, sales and operations.